Aulie, Keith

Mathieu Garon made 3 saves on 3 shots before leaving the game with a lower body injury. Dwayne Roloson allowed 5 goals on 30 shots the rest of the way for the loss. This is bad news if Garon is hurt badly. One of the big differences between this game and prior contests was that Garon was making key saves and key times, even though his save percentage wasn't stellar. Roli not so much.

It's hard for me to protest too loudly considering the team got down 3-0 after the first period, but I think it's safe to say the referees did have a hand in the outcome of this game. I thought the extra 2 given to Aulie for his altercation with Greening was a poor call and I thought the interference call on Stamkos that led to Michalek's first goal was absolutely atrocious. True, in those situations, you need your PK to step up and you need your goaltender to be your best penalty killer. True, neither was the case on those two PK's. But, the Lightning had a lot of momentum before each of those penalties. The team was very fired up after the Aulie fight and even more fired up after Stamkos' power play goal. It looked like they were about to turn the game in their favor, but the refs interceded.

Keith Aulie was +2 with 7 penalty minutes and 1 hit in 6:31. I thought he skated a lot better in this game, and really got to show off his stride once he got off to a gallop a couple of times. And, he really handled his business in the fight against Greening. It's just a shame the ref gave him that extra 2. Like I said, poor call. Even with that call, I feel better about the Aulie acquisition after tonight. He might need some more polish though, and it didn't escape my notice that he was on Norfolk's Clear Day list, so Yzerman may have designs on sending him to the AHL for the playoffs.

Tim Wallace had 1 got, 1 shot, and 1 blocked shot in 6:11, and oh what a shot it was. That was Stamkos-esque.

Mathieu Garon allowed 3 goals on 28 shots for the win. The guy makes just enough saves to get the W's. I can't say his save percentage is pretty, but he's making key saves at key times. The guy is 7 games over .500 now. Yeah, I'm surprised, too!

Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis were the game's first and third stars. It would've been very easy for the Lightning to pack it up down 3-1 after their travel issues in a back-to-back game scenario. You can't undersell how important Stamkos' first goal in the game was.

Oh, memo to Showboat Malkin, #91 just passed you in the Art Ross Trophy race. Ta ta, for now.

And, just when it looked like the Lightning were going to fail on a third period 5-on-3, and that the powerless play was going to shut the lid on the season, Purcell got it done. Then Stamkos buried the 'Canes in overtime, again on the power play. It's gotten better in the past couple of weeks, and none too soon.

I forgot how sweet the tears of the 'Canes TV broadcast team were. Like cinnamon.

Now it gets really interesting, as the Lightning have pulled within 2 points of 8th place and 4 points of the Panthers for the division. Make no bones about it, the Panthers are starting to feel the back pressure coming from the Lightning, as should be the Caps and Jets. Tampa Bay gets Ottawa Tuesday night. Keep believing.

Keith Aulie had 1 hit in 8:54. The big man looked a little lost at times in his own zone. I am concerned.

Tim Wallace had his first NHL goal and was +2 with 1 shot on goal in 6:50. Enjoy it, young fella.

Ryan Malone and Steven Stamkos were the game's first and second stars. Who has two thumbs and a fantasy team that cleaned up in this game? This guy! (I've got Stamkos, Purcell, Gaborik, and Stepan. Yes, you should be envious.)

The Lightning had some moments where they got hemmed in their own zone tonight, but this new group of d-men seems much more mobile and much more positionally sound than the pre-deadline edition. They're more capable of riding out surges and they helped stake the Lightning to a nice 31-19 shots advantage tonight against the conference's top team. They deserved this win tonight, and they're now just 4 points out of the last playoff spot (and 6 back in the division). A win tomorrow night in Carolina would put them no worse than 2 points out of 8th place, and possibly also 4 back in the division. Tomorrow night is THE game, and I've got a feeling this group of players will be flying tomorrow. They've got the scent of blood in the water. I just wish Vinny Lecavalier and Victor Hedman were healthy for this run, because if they were the Lightning might well be worth betting on making it in after tonight's game.

Brian Lee still doesn't fully know Guy Boucher's system, but you can already tell that Steve Yzerman robbed Ottawa in that deal. I might've done a little cartwheel when I saw the press release for the trade, because this guy was expected to be a stud righty-shot 2-way defenseman when he was drafted in the top-10 by the Senators. Nothing against Gilroy, who is pretty athletic in his own right, but this guy is a potential thoroughbred. I was shocked Ottawa gave up on him. He's mobile. He sticks his nose in. And, what I really like and I think even the Lightning may not have fully appreciated, this guy is cooler than Billy Dee Williams in the offensive zone. You saw poise and command tonight from the point from Lee, and it led to 2 assists. I love that pick up. This guy's got a chance to be a permanent fixture for the Lightning, whether he plays on the top pair with Hedman or the second pair in the future.

Keith Aulie was +1 with 2 penalty minutes, 3 hits, and 1 blocked shot in 10:39 in his Lightning debut. It was too small a sample set of minutes to really say much one way or the another except: #3? Man, they gave you Eric Charron's number? What did you do to get the equipment guy that mad at you already? They gave that number to Sergey Gusev and by the time it was through with him he never played another NHL game. Be afraid, Aulie. Be very afraid. That digit is cursed.